Eat Your Way to Health & Fitness

Nutrition is an important part of anyone’s efforts to get fit whether you’re just making the first moves towards regular exercise or you’re a professional sportsperson. Adequate or good nutrition will not make up for a lack of talent, commitment, or reluctance to get up from in front of the television! However it can play an important part in maintaining good health, preventing fatigue and dehydration.

Failure to recognise these points may prevent you from achieving your full potential when trying to get fit or achieving a specific fitness goal.  By eating the right foods for exercising regularly you can:

• Exercise longer and harder
• Perform longer in sports at a higher level
• Delay fatigue
• Help your body recover faster after exercise/training
• Reduce the risk of injury

Good nutrition to maintain health is based around the balance of good health, as pictured in the national plate guide.

The basic rules for healthy eating are to eat mostly bread, cereals, potatoes, fruit & veg and eat less meat, fish and alternatives, dairy products, fats and sugars. Preventing fatigue is also based on this principle.

Breads, cereals, potatoes and rice contain carbohydrate, which is an important source of fuel. The muscles in the body can store a limited amount of this (glycogen) however once this store becomes low it results in fatigue.

EAT MORE Fresh & frozen vegetables Potatoes Fresh & dried Fruit Wholemeal pasta Brown rice Muesli

EAT LESS Sweets Cakes Full-cream dairy produce Fried foods Takeaways Crisps

The way to refuel these stores and maintain exercise is to eat a diet based on carbohydrate foods e.g. breads, cereals and potatoes.

There is also some carbohydrate in fruits, lentils, dairy products and sugars (sweets and chocolates). These sources are important but should be in the same proportion as for health - see picture guide.

Dehydration can cause fatigue as the body loses fuel during activity. The environment, clothing and intensity of exercise can all play a part. It is important to try and drink water but to have ‘little and often’ throughout exercise and afterwards.

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